Claygate's Sam Bird (Mücke Motorsport, 0:49.371 minutes) and Mika Mäki (Signature, 0:49.371 minutes) have set exactly identical lap times in free practice of the Formula 3 Euro Series at the Norisring.

As Bird did so before Mäki, the Briton claimed first place.

Third position went to the best rookie, Alexander Sims (Mücke Motorsport, 0:49.438 minutes) ahead of Jean Karl Vernay (Signature, 0:49.523 minutes), who ended up fourth.

Bird already set his fastest time close to the halfway mark, while Mäki only came to the fore in the final second.

His final attack first brought him up into third place and when the chequered flag was out, he moved up into second.

Bird said: “For me, this year is completely different from last year, because now I know the track.

"When I arrived here, I wasn’t quite sure whether I liked the circuit or not. But my engineer kept telling me over the radio: ‘You like the track, you like the track’, so I almost start believing it!

“Being in front at such an important event is nice, but so far, it is only free practice. I think that qualifying will not be easy, but I will do my best."